'I don't know if marriage is really necessary': Gemma Arterton opens up about split from husband Stefano Catelli as she admits she has 'yet to meet my soulmate'

She was reportedly left devastated when she split from husband Stefano Catelli in February.

And now Gemma Arterton has opened up for the first time about the breakdown of her relationship, admitting she's no longer sure whether or not she believes in marriage.

Gemma made the admission as she posed for a stunning new shoot in Britain'sMarie Clairemagazine.

'I don't know if marriage is really necessary': Gemma Arterton opened up about her split from Stefano Catelli in Marie Claire magazine

Asked about the marriage, Gemma said: 'It was a wonderful
time and I have nothing bad to say about it. Even if they don’t last
relationships can enrich your life in some way and then you move on to
the next part – it’s all part of the process of living.'

She added: 'I don’t know how I feel about
marriage; whether it’s really necessary. If you are not
religious, what does it mean? I’d always thought that – then I got
married. And now I still believe in what I believed in when I was a
child.'

The 27-year-old actress also revealed that while she might not believe in marriage any more, she still subscribes to the ideal that there is one perfect person, or 'soulmate' for everyone.

She said: 'I look at certain couples and
they’re soulmates, you can just see it. I like the idea that
there is a soulmate out there and that you’ve known each other before,
like in a past life you were brother and sister or something. I’ve yet
to meet that person.'

The full interview appears in the June edition of Marie Claire magazine

Despite currently being single, Gemma admits that working with 19-year-old Saoirse Ronan on new movie Byzantium brought out her maternal side.

She said: 'I’m just so maternal, it’s a bit
weird. I’m the mother figure in our family in the typical
way that I look after everybody and make sure everybody’s OK.

'I’ve been
like that since I was very small, especially with my sister. I have to
reign it in a bit, because I’m not her mum.'

But Gemma added in the interview that she has a somewhat unusual relationship with her own mother, who took her children to Glastonbury and encouraged family jamming sessions.

She said: ‘My mum isn’t a typical mum. She’s
individual. At the moment, she’s into clubbing. Last weekend, she went
to Area [a superclub in London’s Vauxhall]. I haven’t even been to Area!

'So when you’re a kid, you’re like, "You’re so embarrassing. Why
couldn’t you just be like everyone else’s mum and sit at home and drink
tea?" '

To read the interview in full see the new June issue of Marie Claire magazine out now - plus digital edition available on all tablets.

Screen star: Gemma can next be seen in movie Byzantium, opposite Saoirse Ronan